Let People Celebrate Their Wins

Let people celebrate their wins, period — because their joy does not diminish yours.

Let people celebrate their small wins.

Actually, let people celebrate their wins, period.

We have too many bitter people. And I mean bitter. Some people are so consumed by bitterness that you can almost smell it, taste it, and hear it in the way they speak. They do not simply disagree with someone's happiness. They feel compelled to spit on it.

Let people celebrate.

I have seen people celebrate buying their first house. I have seen people celebrate buying their first plant.

I remember my landlady. Whenever she harvested her first crop, she would show people with such excitement. She was genuinely happy about it.

Growing up, we had a small farm beside our house. It was nothing massive. Just a little patch of land. But when the first peppers or tomatoes were ready to be picked, my mother was excited. We were excited.

That first crop meant something to us.

And that is the point.

To you, it may be small. To them, it may be massive.

Do Not Belittle People's Wins

Do not belittle people's wins.

I have seen people announce online, “I just sold my first copy of my book,” and someone immediately comes along with, “Oh, so this person is a bestseller now?”

So what?

What is your business?

Someone is happy because they sold their first book. Let them be happy.

I am firmly on the team of: if you have nothing kind or constructive to add, keep scrolling.

You are unhappy with your life. Fine.

But whose fault is that?

Is it the fault of strangers online who are trying to create a little happiness for themselves?

Is it the fault of someone who finally accomplished something they have been working toward?

You Do Not Have to Understand It

You have the right to define what you consider a major achievement. So does everybody else.

For you, celebration might mean:

• “I bought a house.”
• “I got a great job.”
• “I travelled abroad.”
• “I became a citizen.”

For someone else, celebration might mean:

• “I finally went to that restaurant I have been saving up for.”
• “I planted something, and it finally produced its first fruit.”
• “I tried baking, and these are my first cookies from this recipe.”
• “This is my first sourdough bread.”

Those things may not impress you.

They do not have to.

You do not have to understand someone's joy in order to respect it.

Let people enjoy things without making them feel ashamed for it, no matter how little it looks or how irrelevant you think it is.

Just Keep Scrolling

I have stumbled across so many posts online where I genuinely did not understand what the person was celebrating. But I could feel their joy.

And because I did not understand it, I simply kept scrolling.

That was it.

I did not receive a letter or a summons from the Court of Entitled People Who Think Their Opinion Matters, informing me that I was legally required to appear because I passed someone's post without commenting.

So why do we do this?

Why do we feel entitled to interrupt someone's happiness just because we do not personally understand it?

Let people celebrate.

Somebody might make a dress and be incredibly proud of it.

Somebody might finally decorate their apartment the way they have always wanted.

Somebody might buy their first good pair of shoes.

Somebody might bake a cake for the first time.

You do not know what someone had to overcome to get to that moment.

You simply do not know.

The Story Behind the Celebration

I remember one creator I stumbled upon who was celebrating her first birthday after leaving an abusive relationship that had nearly broken her.

She was happy.

Not because she had thrown some extravagant party.

She had left.

She was rebuilding her life.

She had apparently gone from a management role to doing what some people would consider menial work, but she was happier.

And that tells you something.

Her celebration looked simple. She was spending time with her pets, watching a movie, eating something she enjoyed.

That was her celebration.

Someone else might say, “I am going out of state.”

Someone else might want to wear designer clothes.

Someone else might book an expensive dinner.

Someone else might sit quietly at home with a cake.

Let people celebrate their wins.

You do not know the story behind the celebration.

And belittling someone's happiness says more about you than it does about them.

How You Respond to Someone Else's Joy

There are comment sections I enter sometimes and think, Oh.

You can learn a lot about a person from the way they respond to someone else's happiness.

I know the argument: “You cannot judge someone's entire life based on one comment.”

Fair enough.

One comment does not tell you everything about a person.

But sometimes, a comment gives you a glimpse into someone's mindset. It tells you how they respond to joy that does not belong to them.

And that is revealing.

You do not have to celebrate everything everyone celebrates.

You do not have to understand it.

You do not even have to care.

Just keep scrolling.

Let people have their moment.

Let Them Have Their Moment

If somebody is celebrating their first tomato, let them celebrate the tomato.

If somebody is celebrating their first book sale, let them celebrate the book.

If somebody is celebrating their first sourdough loaf, let them celebrate the bread.

If somebody is celebrating their first birthday after surviving something that nearly destroyed them, let them celebrate being here.

Their joy does not diminish yours.

Their small win does not make your big win smaller.

And if their happiness bothers you that much?

Suck on some sugar.

Suck on some honey.

Just let people be happy.